Composures: an agro-religious ritual that promotes communion among the Lencas of La Campa - Honduras

Abstract

The objective of this article is to understand the agro-religious ritual of compostura, practiced among peasants in the municipality of La Campa, in western Honduras. While these rituals were studied by Anne Chapman, one of the contributions presented here is from the perspective of sociability proposed by George Simmel, to understand the reasons the community assigns to them, thus ensuring the continuity of this Lenca. At a methodological level, participant observation was carried out during the year 2023. It was concluded that, during this ritual, the forms take on a life of their own, freeing themselves from the contents. Social interactions, to some extent, break with instrumental reason, and bonds are created that foster self-recognition in the other. This has allowed the ritual to be preserved to across generations, since “compostura” allows for the rekindling of the pleasure of belonging to the community.